Dispensing tube assembly



June 10, 1969 HARIUMI KOBAYASHI ETAL 3,448,896

DISPENS ING TUBE ASSEMBLY Filed Feb. 14, 1967 United States Patent 3,448,896 DISPENSING TUBE ASSEMBLY Harumi Kobayashi and Tom Sakuta, Osaka, Japan, as-

signors'to Sunstar Dentifrice Company Limited, Osaka, Japan, a company of Japan Filed Feb. 14, 1967, Ser. No. 615,989 Claims priority, applicatiorilppan, Feb. 23, 1966,

Int. (:1. B65d 55/16, 25/42 US. Cl. 222-92 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention relates to an improved dispensing tube assembly particularly suitable for holding and extruding highly reactive viscous or paste-like compositions, and more particularly, it relates to the combination of an improved metallic tube and a novel plastic nozzle assembly comprising a main or inner nozzle portion and a separate auxiliary or outer nozzle portion, which is attached to the head portion of the metallic tube in a novel manner.

Metallic dispensing tubes have been widely employed in various fields of applications because such tubes are easy to handle, can satisfactorily and sealably receive and hold their contents, can perfectly shield the contents from the light, can prevent the contents from degenerating while being held therein and have other desirable properties as containers for various compositions. Most general applications of metallic tubes are as containers for toothpastes, chemicals, medicines, cosmetics and the like products. As materials for such metallic tubes, aluminum, aluminum alloys, lead, lead alloys and the like metals are commonly empoyed. Some special types of contents can be received directly in aluminum tubes, but in most instances, when the metallic tubes are formed of aluminum or aluminum alloys, the inner surfaces thereof are coated with insulating films, synthetic resinous coatings or wax coatings because aluminum has a high chemical activity which causes a reaction if it directly contacts the contents of the tube. However, since the outer surfaces of the necks and shoulders at the head portions of such metallic tubes cannot readily be protected by insulating films or coatings, when the contents of such tubes are dispensed, such contents contact and adhere to the threads on the outer surfaces of the necks and to the outer surfaces of the shoulders of the head portions of the tubes. Likewise, the inner surfaces of the necks and shoulders at the head portions of the metallic tubes cannot be readily protected by such protective insulating films or coatings, and accordingly, these portions are also exposed to the contents and subjected to corrosive actions thereof. When the metallic tubes hold and extrude comparatively low reactive contents such as ordinary toothpastes, the wall thickness of the necks and shoulders at the tube head portions may corrode to some degree but not enough to alfe'ct the utility of the tubes. Of course, any such corrosion, does create an unsightly and unsanitary condition which is most undesirable. Moreover, when the metallic tubes are employed for holding and extruding excessively high reactive contents, such as lead fluoride-containing toothpaste and the like, the

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necks and shoulders at the tube heads are subjected to excessive corrosive actions by such high reactive contents and the thus corroded tube portions, in turn, tend to foul the contents as they are extruded out of the tubes. It has been discovered that the aforementioned defects can only be overcome by the provision of plastic nozzles at the heads of the aluminum or aluminum alloy tubes.

In an instance where the metallic tubes are formed of lead or lead alloys, the anti-corrosive and chemically stable properties of the lead prevent the aforementioned corrosion problems which are encountered when the metallic tubes are formed of aluminum or aluminum alloys. However, since lead is a soft metal, the threads formed on the necks at the tube heads are easily worn out by continuous mating engagement with the threads of the cap, particularly when some of the tube contents have been allowed to solidify and adhere to the caps. Such a difficulty is encountered particularly in instances when the lead tubes are employed for holding and extruding contents such as toothpastes which are frequently and daily used, thus requiring frequent removal and replacement of the caps. When the caps are screwed onto the tube neck threads, the solidified tube contents contact the threads on the tube necks with abrasive action to such a degree that particles from the material of the threads are abraded away and may mix into succeeding portions of the contents which will be extruded out of the tubes later, thus fouling the same. Again, it has been discovered that the aforementioned diificulties with lead tubes can only be overcome by the provision of plastic nozzles at the heads of the lead or lead alloy tubes.

As can thus be understood from the foregoing, it is necessary to employ plastic nozzles for metallic tubes which are adapted to hold and extrude contents of high reactive natures regardless of the type of material used to fabricate the metallic tubes. As a result, the manner by which the plastic nozzles are connected to the top openings or necks of the metallic tubes constitutes an important factor in order to provide a desirable metallic tube and plastic nozzle assembly which can eliminate the aforementioned difliculties. Hitherto, a great variety of arrangements for connecting between the plastic nozzles and tube necks have been proposed and employed and some of such arrangements have been found to be somewhat satisfactory. However, none of the prior art arrangements have been altogether acceptable and entirely satisfactory. Indeed, in one form of the prior art assembly, the plastic nozzle could not be positively and sealably connected to the tube neck or opening, resulting in leakage of the tube contents between the plastic nozzle and tube neck. Moreover, most of the prior art plastic nozzles have rather complicated construction and configuration and were hence diificult to produce by conventional mass production techniques.

Therefore, one object of the present invention is to overcome the aforementioned difiiculties and deficiencies and to provide instead, a new and improved metallic tube which can effectively, easily and economically be manufactured.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved assembly of a plastic nozzle and a metallic tube, such assembly being relatively inexpensive, yet quite durable and satisfactory in operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved plastic nozzle means which can hold positively and sealably to the neck of the metallic tube.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an assembly which protects the inner surfaces of the neck and shoulder of a metallic tube, where insulating films or protective coatings are very diflicult to apply.

Other objects, advantages and salient features of the present invention will be more readily apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description when read in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of the main or inner nozzle portion of the plastic nozzle means according to a preferred form of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of said main nozzle portion of FIGURE 1 with part thereof broken away;

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the auxiliary or outer nozzle section of said plastic nozzle means with part'thereof broken away;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper or head portion of a metallic tube; and

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary perspective view of a complete assembly of the plastic nozzle means with the metallic tube according to the present invention.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings which disclose a preferred form of the present invention, the metallic tube includes a stepped cylindrical head portion generally designated 1, formed of a suitable metal. The tubular body of the tube, not shown, is formed of one piece of foil of the same material as that of the head portion and is secured to the head portion in the conventional manner. The head portion 1 includes a reduced diameter annular upper section or neck 2 which has a polygonal inner surface or recess 4. The polygonal configuration of the inner surface 4 is represented as octagonal in FIGURE 4, but such inner surface may be of any other polygonal configuration. The head portion also includes an annular shoulder or step 3 which extends outwardly and circumferentially from the lower end of the neck 2 and inclines outwardly and downwardly, merging into a cylindrical lower section 5 around which the upper section of the tubular body is wrapped and secured. The lower section 5 extends downwardly from the outer peripheral edge of the shoulder 3. Both the inner and outer surfaces of the neck 2 and shoulder 3 of the tube head portion are completely covered by a novel plastic nozzle means which will now be described.

The plastic nozzle means comprises a funnel-shaped main nozzle portion generally designated and a frustoconical auxiliary nozzle portion generally designated which are formed of the same type of plastic material. The main or inner nozzle portion 10, as shown in FIG URE 2, comprises a funnel-shaped member which includes an annular bottom flange or skirt 11 which has a configuration complementary to that of the inner surface of the shoulder 3 of the tube head portion 1, a reduced diameter upwardly extending annular section 12 which tapers upwardly at the inner edge of the skirt 11 and which has a polygonal outer surface complementary to the polygonal inner surface 4 of the neck 2. The main nozzle portion 10 also includes a further reduced diameter circular serrated or saw-toothed section 13 disposed above the section 12 and of smaller diameter than the section 12, and additionally includes a further reduced diameter cylindrical thread section 14 above the sawtoothed section 13 and a still further reduced diameter cylindrical uppermost thread section 15 which is disposed above the first mentioned thread section 14 and which tapers toward the upper end. The pitch of the threads on the second or uppermost thread section 15 is different from that of the threads on the first thread section 14 for the reason to be pointed out fully hereinafter.

The auxiliary or outer nozzle portion 20, as shown in FIGURE 3, comprises a hollow frusto-conical member having open top and bottom ends. The frusto-conical member includes a larger diameter cylindrical lower section 21 whose outer surface is knurled and which tapers upwardly, and a reduced diameter cylindrical upper section 22 which tapers upwardly and which is spaced from the outer peripheral edge of the lower section 21 by a radially extending sloped shoulder 23. The diameter of the inner surface of the lower section 21 is substantially the same as the outer diameter of the neck 2 of the tube head 1. The inner configuration of the shoulder 23 is substantially the same as the outer configuration of the sawtoothed section 13 of the main nozzle portion 10 and is provided with saw-teeth 24 which are adapted to mate and engage with the saw teeth on the saw-toothed section 13 of the main nozzle portion. The diameter of the inner surface of the reduced diameter upper section 22 is substantially the same as the outer diameter of the thread section 14 of the main nozzle portion 10 and the inner surface of the upper section 22 is also provided with threads 25 which are adapted to engage the mating threads on the outer surface of the thread section 14 of the main nozzle portion 10.

In assembling the nozzle means with the tube head 1 to create an assembly in accordance With the principles of the present invention, the main nozzle portion 10 is first inserted into the tube head 1 at the open bottom end of the head until the outer surface of the bottom flange or skirt' 11 of the main nozzle portion 10 abuts against the inner surface of the shoulder 3 of the tube head 1 whereby the outer polygonal surface of the annular section 12 of the main nozzle portion 10 fits in the inner polygonal surface 4 of the neck 2 of the tube head 1 and both the thread sections 14 and 15 of the main nozzle portion may aslo project outwardly and upwardly of the open upper edge of the neck 2. Since the configuration of the outer surface of the section 12 of the main nozzle portion 10 is polygonal so as to be complementary to the polygonal inner surface 4 of the neck 2 of the tube head 1, the main nozzle portion 10 may be positively prevented from rotating relatively to the tube head 1. Thereafter, the auxiliary nozzle portion 20 is fitted on the main nozzle portion 10 by threading the threads 25 on the inner surface of the auxiliary nozzle annular upper section 22 onto the threads on the outer surface of the first thread section 14 of the main nozzle portion 10- until the saw-teeth 24 on the inner surface of the shoulder 23 of the auxiliary nozzle portion 20 engage the mating saw teeth on the outer surface of the saw-toothed section 13 of the main nozzle portion 10 whereby the auxiliary nozzle portion may be positively prevented from rotating with respect to the main nozzle portion. After the tube head 1, main nozzle portion 10 and auxiliary nozzle portion 20 have been assembled in the manner as mentioned above, a suitable cap (not shown), which has a threaded inner surface of the substantially same diameter as the outer diameter of the second or uppermost thread section 15 of the main nozzle 10, is threaded onto the main nozzle portion 10 and the tube body (not shown), which has been formed of one piece of metallic foil of the same material as that for the tube head, is wrapped and sealed around the lower cylindrical section 5 of the tube head 1 whereby a dispensing tube assembly may be formed and contents may be introduced into the tube and will be effectively sealed from the atmosphere.

With the arrangement of the present invention where the tube head 1, main nozzle portion 10 and auxiliary nozzle portion 20 are all assembled, the tube head is firmly sandwiched and locked between the nozzle portions 10 and 20 by the mating saw-toothed portions 13, 24 and thread sections 14 and 25. Also, it will be understood and appreciated that the nozzle portions cannot inadvertently loosen from the tube head 1 and hence the tube head will at all times be protected.

In the manufacture of the tube head itself, since the tube head 1 has substantially the same configuration as that of the conventional tube head with a threaded neck which engages with a conventional threaded cap, the tube head of the present invention may be economically produced by any known type of press machine. One simple way for assembling the two nozzle portions 10 and 20 is to support the main nozzle portion at one end of a suitable bar in a suitable manner, to insert the thus supported main nozzle portion into the tube head at the open bottom of the latter and push the main nozzle portion upwardly within the tube head until the skirt 11 of the nozzle portion abuts against the inner surface of the shoulder 3 of the tube head, and to thereafter thread the inner thread surface 25 of the auxiliary nozzle portion onto the thread section 14 of the main nozzle portion until the saw-toothed section 24 of the former engages the mating saw-toothed section 1.3 of the latter. Thus, the novel tube assembly of the present invention can be easily and rapidly produced.

The simplicity of the present invention assures that during manufacture of the component parts, neither the tube heads nor the plastic nozzle portions will develop and cracks and/ or other defects. Specifically, as described hereinbefore, since the neck of the tube head has substantially the same construction as that of the neck of the comparable prior art tube head which has a cap attached thereto by the usual thread-engaging manner, the tube neck of the present invention will not be subjected to any excessive stress as it is processed and as the plastic nozzle assembly is thereafter connected thereto by any known press machine. In addition, when the tube head is connected with the plastic nozzle assembly, the neck is not deformed in any way to accomplish such connecting and thus cracks and other defects can be effectively prevented from developing on the neck of the tube head.

Ordinarily, main and auxiliary nozzle portions may be fabricated of any suitable type of plastic material provided that such plastic material has suflicient elasticity to permit the nozzle portions to be fitted in and on the tube head without the necessity of deforming the neck of the tube head for the purpose. In certain instances, however, the plastic material of the nozzle means may have to be specially selected to be compatible with the contents to be dispensed from the tube.

Although the novel plastic nozzle means may be coupled with a cap in other conventional ways, it is preferably coupled therewith by means of thread engagement as mentioned hereinabove because the mating threads usually insure positive fitting and satisfactory sealing.

While one preferred form of the invention has only been shown and described in detail, it will be understood that the same is for the purpose of illustration only and is not to be taken as a definition of the scope of the invention, reference being had for this purpose to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a dispensing tube assembly, the combination comprising a metallic tube head including a shoulder portion having an outer rim and an upstanding neck portion having an upper surface and an opening therethrough, the inner surface of the neck portion defining said opening having a polygonal shape, said shoulder extending outwardly of the lower end of said neck portion, a plastic main nozzle member including a lower outwardly ext nding flange and an upstanding spout-forming portion extending upwardly from said flange, said spout-forming portion including a lower portion having an external polygonal shape complementary to the polygonal shape of the inner surface defining the opening through said neck portion, said spout-forming portion further including an upper portion of less transverse dimension than the transverse dimension of the said polygonal lower portion, said main nozzle member being disposed at least partially within said tube head with the upper surface of said lower flange abutting the lower surface of said shoulder, said polygonal lower portion of the main nozzle member fitting within said opening so as to prevent relative rotation between said main nozzle portion and said tube head, the length of said spout-forming portion being such as to extend beyond said neck portion, a plastic auxiliary nozzle member including a lower portion surrounding said neck portion, an upper portion disposed above said neck portion and of less transverse dimension than the transverse dimension of said lower portion, a connecting shoulder extending between the top of the lower portion of said auxiliary nozzle member and the bottom of said upper portion of the auxiliary nozzle member and said connecting shoulder extending across the upper surface of the neck portion of said tube head neck portion, the upper portion of said spout-forming portion and the upper portion of said auxiliary nozzle member having complementary, respectively, externally and internally arranged screw threads thereon to permit coupling together of said main and auxiliary nozzle members with at least a substantial portion of said tube head neck portion engaged and sandwiched therebetween, said upper portion of said upstanding spout-forming portion of said main nozzle member further including an outwardly directed series of saw-teeth, said auxiliary nozzle member further including an inwardly directed series of saw-teeth and said respective saw-teeth meshing with one another when said screw threads on said main and auxiliary nozzle members are fully engaged.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 in which said outwardly directed saw-teeth are located immediately above said polygonally shaped lower portion of said spout-forming portion of said main nozzle member and said inwardly directed saw-teeth are located level with said connecting shoulder in said auxiliary nozzle member.

3. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said spout portion includes additional screw threads along the upper end thereof, said additional screw threads being disposed above said auxiliary nozzle upper portion and being adapted to receive a cap for closing said dispensing tube assembly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,322,213 6/ 1943 Amberg 229-45 X 2,928,447 3/1960 Hosking 152427 2,765,945 10/1956 Hassid et al 215-73 X 2,839,228 6/1958 Levine 222567 X 2,992,018 7/ 1961 Rosan 285-81 3,101,856 8/1963 Wl'iiteman "215-9 3,261,490 7/1966 McDonald et al. 2159 FOREIGN PATENTS 721,679 1/ 1955 Great Britain.

SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

NORMAN L. STACK, JR., Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R. 

